Intense fluctuations in the electric field at high altitudes in the auroral zone are frequently measured by the Viking satellite. We have made an analysis of the origin of electric and magnetic fluctuations in the frequency range of 0.1 - 1 Hz by assuming four different sources for the signals: (I) spatial structures, (2) spatial structures with a parallel potential drop below the satellite, (3) traveling; shear Alfven waves, and (4) interfering shear Alfven waves. We will shaw that these different sources of the signals may produce similar amplitude ratios and phase differences between the perpendicular electric and magnetic fields. Since the different sources have different frequency dependencies, this can be used as an additional test if the signals are broadband. In other cases, additional information is needed, for example, satellite particle measurements or ground; magnetic measurements. The ideas presented in the theory were tested for one Viking eveningside pass over Scandinavia, where ground-based magnetometer and EISCAT radar measurements were available. The magnetic conditions were active during this pass and several interfering shear Alfven waves were found. Also, a spatial structure with a parallel potential drop below the satellite was identified. The magnitude of the 10-km-wide potential drop was at least 2 kV and the upward field-aligned current 26 mu A m(-2) (value mapped to the ionospheric level). The held-aligned conductance was estimated as 1.3 - 2.2x10(-8) S m(-2).

The four Cluster s/c passed over Northern Scandinavia on 6 February 2001 from south-east to north-west at a radial distance of about 4.4 R-E in the post-midnight sector. When mapped along geomagnetic field lines, the separation of the spacecraft in the ionosphere was confined to within 110 km in latitude and 50 km in longitude. This constellation allowed us to study the temporal evolution of plasma with a time scale of a few minutes. Ground-based instrumentation used involved two all-sky cameras, magnetometers and the EISCAT radar. The main findings were as follows. Two auroral arcs were located close to the equatorward and poleward edge of a large-scale density cavity, respectively. These arcs showed a different kind of a temporal evolution. (1) As a response to a pseudo-breakup onset, both the up- and downward field-aligned current (FAC) sheets associated with the equatorward arc widened and the total amount of FAC doubled in a time scale of 1-2 min. (2) In the poleward arc, a density cavity formed in the ionosphere in the return (downward) current region. As a result of ionospheric feedback, a strongly enhanced ionospheric southward electric field developed in the region of decreased Pedersen conductance. Furthermore, the acceleration potential of ionospheric electrons, carrying the return current, increased from 200 to 1000 eV in 70 s, and the return current region widened in order to supply a constant amount of return current to the arc current circuit. Evidence of local acceleration of the electron population by dispersive Alfven waves was obtained in the upward FAC region of the poleward arc. However, the downward accelerated suprathermal electrons must be further energised below Cluster in order to be able to produce the observed visible aurora. Both of the auroral arcs were associated with broad-band ULF/ELF (BBELF) waves, but they were highly localised in space and time. The most intense BBELF waves were confined typically to the return current regions adjacent to the visual arc, but in one case also to a weak upward FAC region. BBELF waves could appear/disappear between s/c crossings of the same arc separated by about 1 min.

3. Alm, L.

et al.

Argall, M. R.

Torbert, R. B.

Farrugia, C. J.

Burch, J. L.

Ergun, R. E.

Russell, C. T.

Strangeway, R. J.

Khotyaintsev, Y. V.

Lindqvist, Per-Arne

KTH, School of Electrical Engineering (EES), Space and Plasma Physics.

Marklund, Göran

KTH, School of Electrical Engineering (EES), Space and Plasma Physics.

We present a method for mapping the position of satellites relative to the X line using the measured B-L and B-N components of the magnetic field and apply it to the Magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) encounter with the electron diffusion region (EDR) which occurred on 13:07 UT on 16 October 2015. Mapping the data to our parametric space succeeds in capturing many of the signatures associated with magnetic reconnection and the electron diffusion region. This offers a method for determining where in the reconnection region the satellites were located. In addition, parametric mapping can also be used to present data from numerical simulations. This facilitates comparing data from simulations with data from in situ observations as one can avoid the complicated process using boundary motion analysis to determine the geometry of the reconnection region. In parametric space we can identify the EDR based on the collocation of several reconnection signatures, such as electron nongyrotropy, electron demagnetization, parallel electric fields, and energy dissipation. The EDR extends 2-3km in the normal direction and in excess of 20km in the tangential direction. It is clear that the EDR occurs on the magnetospheric side of the topological X line, which is expected in asymmetric reconnection. Furthermore, we can observe a north-south asymmetry, where the EDR occurs north of the peak in out-of-plane current, which may be due to the small but finite guide field.

In this paper, we present results from the Magnetospheric Multiscale constellation encountering two ion-scale, magnetopause flux ropes. The two flux ropes exhibit very different properties and internal structure. In the first flux rope, there are large differences in the currents observed by different satellites, indicating variations occurring over sub-d(i) spatial scales, and time scales on the order of the ion gyroperiod. In addition, there is intense wave activity and particle energization. The interface between the two flux ropes exhibits oblique whistler wave activity. In contrast, the second flux rope is mostly quiescent, exhibiting little activity throughout the encounter. Changes in the magnetic topology and field line connectivity suggest that we are observing flux rope coalescence.

The statistical altitude distribution of auroral density cavities located between 3.0 and 6.5 R-E is investigated using in situ observations from flux tubes exhibiting auroral acceleration. The locations of the observations are described using a pseudo altitude derived from the distribution of the parallel potential drop above and below the satellite. The upper edge of the auroral acceleration region is observed between 4.375 and 5.625 R-E. Above 6.125 R-E, none of the events exhibit precipitating inverted V electrons, though the upward ion beam can be observed. This indicates that the satellites are located inside the same flux tube as, but above, the auroral acceleration region. The electron density decreases as we move higher into the acceleration region. The spacecraft potential continues to decrease once above the acceleration region, indicating that the density cavity extends above the acceleration region. From 3.0 to 4.375 R-E the pseudo altitude increases by 0.20 per R-E, consistent with a distributed parallel electric field. Between 4.375 and 5.625 R-E the pseudo altitude increases weakly, by 0.01 per R-E, due to an increasing number of events per altitude bin, which are occurring above the acceleration region. Above 5.625 R-E the pseudo altitude increases by 0.28 per R-E, due to a rapid increase in the number of events per altitude bin occurring above the acceleration region, indicating that the remaining parallel potential drop is concentrated in a narrow region at the upper edge of the acceleration region, rather than in a distributed parallel electric field.

We present an event study in which Cluster satellites C1 and C3 encounters the flux tube of a stable auroral arc in the pre-midnight sector. C1 observes the mid cavity, while C3 enters the flux tube of the auroral arc at an altitude which is below the acceleration region, before crossing into the top half of the acceleration region. This allows us to study the boundary between the ionosphere and the density cavity, as well as large portion of the upper density cavity. The position of the two satellites, in relation to the acceleration region, is described using a pseudo altitude derived from the distribution of the parallel potential drop above and below the satellites.The electron density exhibits an anti-correlation with the pseudo altitude, indicating that the lowest electron densities are found near the top of the density cavity. Over the entire pseudo altitude range, the electron density distribution is similar to a planar sheath, formed out of a plasma sheet dominated electron distribution, in response to the parallel electric field of the acceleration region. This indicates that the parallel electric fields on the ionosphere-cavity boundary, as well as the mid cavity parallel electric fields, are part of one unified structure rather than two discrete entities.The results highlight the strong connection between the auroral density cavity and auroral acceleration as well as the necessity of studying them in a unified fashion.

The uppermost part of a stable potential structure in the auroral acceleration region was studied using simultaneous observations of Cluster satellites C1 and C3. Both satellites observe a monotonically decreasing electron density as they ascend through the auroral acceleration region. As C1 exits the top of the auroral acceleration region, the electron densities continue to decrease, and the minimum electron density is reached 14 km above the upper edge of the auroral acceleration region. The electron density does not return to noncavity values until the spacecraft exits the potential structure's flux tube. The data indicate that the auroral density cavity is not confined by the potential structure and may extend above the auroral acceleration region.

Studying the density distribution inside the auroral density cavity is complicated by the difficulties in achieving simultaneous measurements within the same flux tube at different altitudes. Comparisons between different events are complicated by variations in both the location of the density cavity and the location of the related potential structure. Describing the spacecraft's location inside the density cavity relative to the potential structure instead of the Earth offers a more practical and consistent frame of reference, a pseudo altitude. The pseudo altitude is determined by comparing the potential drop above the spacecraft, as determined from the characteristic energy of the downward electrons, with the parallel potential drop below the spacecraft, determined from the characteristic energy of the upward ions. A pseudo altitude of 0 corresponds to the bottom of the potential structure and a pseudo altitude of 1 to the top of the structure. Seven events from 2008 were selected, each of which corresponds to a Cluster crossing of a mainly quasi-static potential structure. All of the events exhibit a consistent anticorrelation between the pseudo altitude and the electron density. No upper limit of the density cavity can be observed, while all cavities have a lower limit above a pseudo altitude of 0.33. These observations show that the auroral density cavity is predominately concentrated to the upper parts of the quasi-static potential structure.

Observations by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft are used to investigate the Hall physics of a magnetopause magnetic reconnection separatrix layer. Inside this layer of currents and strong normal electric fields, cold (eV) ions of ionospheric origin can remain frozen-in together with the electrons. The cold ions reduce the Hall current. Using a generalized Ohm's law, the electric field is balanced by the sum of the terms corresponding to the Hall current, the vxB drifting cold ions, and the divergence of the electron pressure tensor. A mixture of hot and cold ions is common at the subsolar magnetopause. A mixture of length scales caused by a mixture of ion temperatures has significant effects on the Hall physics of magnetic reconnection.

High-resolution, multi-spectral data from the ground-based low-light auroral imager ASK (Auroral Structure and Kinetics) are used to characterize the fine structure of black aurora. Sixteen events comprising sheared and unsheared black arcs, as well as black patches and rings, constitute the analysed dataset. Simultaneous measurements of emissions caused by high- and low-energy precipitation make it possible to relate the characteristics of different black structures to the energy of the precipitating electrons. The reductions of high-energy particles versus low-energy particles in the black regions compared to the diffuse background are investigated for the different forms of black aurora. Two separate mechanisms have been suggested to cause black aurora. The larger reduction of high-energy precipitation within the fine-scale black structures discussed here favours a magnetospheric mechanism that blocks high-energy electrons from being scattered into the loss cone. European Incoherent SCATter radar (EISCAT) electron density profiles are available for one of the nights, and are compared to the optical measurements.

Mars Orbiting Plasma Surveyor (MOPS) is a microsatellite mission focused on studies of the near -Mars environment and the planet - solar wind interaction. The recent findings by the ESA Mars Express mission further highlighted the complexity of the processes taking place at the planet resulting from the solar wind interaction that strongly affect the

planet's atmosphere. However, despite many previous Martian missions carrying different types of space plasma experiments, a comprehensive investigation including simultaneous measurements of particles, fields, and waves has never been performed.

We consider a spinning spacecraft of a wet mass of 76.1 kg with a 9.7 kg payload, which can “hitchhike” on another platform until Mars orbit insertion, and then be released into a suitable orbit. The spacecraft design is based on the experience gained in very successful

Swedish space plasma missions, Viking, Freja, Astrid-1, and Astrid-2. In the present mission design, the MOPS spacecraft is equipped with its own 1m high gain antenna for direct communication with the Earth. The payload includes a wave experiment with wire booms,

magnetometer with a rigid boom, Langmuir probes, electron and ion energy spectrometers and an ion mass analyzer. An energetic neutral atom imager and an UV photometer may complete the core payload. One of the proposed scenarios is piggy - backing on the Russian Phobos - Grunt mission to be launched to Mars in 2011.

The aurorae are dynamic, luminous displays that grace the night skies of Earth's high latitude regions. The solar wind emanating from the Sun is their ultimate energy source, but the chain of plasma physical processes leading to auroral displays is complex. The special conditions at the interface between the solar wind-driven magnetosphere and the ionospheric environment at the top of Earth's atmosphere play a central role. In this Auroral Acceleration Region (AAR) persistent electric fields directed along the magnetic field accelerate magnetospheric electrons to the high energies needed to excite luminosity when they hit the atmosphere. The "ideal magnetohydrodynamics" description of space plasmas which is useful in much of the magnetosphere cannot be used to understand the AAR. The AAR has been studied by a small number of single spacecraft missions which revealed an environment rich in wave-particle interactions, plasma turbulence, and nonlinear acceleration processes, acting on a variety of spatio-temporal scales. The pioneering 4-spacecraft Cluster magnetospheric research mission is now fortuitously visiting the AAR, but its particle instruments are too slow to allow resolve many of the key plasma physics phenomena. The Alfv,n concept is designed specifically to take the next step in studying the aurora, by making the crucial high-time resolution, multi-scale measurements in the AAR, needed to address the key science questions of auroral plasma physics. The new knowledge that the mission will produce will find application in studies of the Sun, the processes that accelerate the solar wind and that produce aurora on other planets.

Freja data are used to study the relative contributions from the high-latitude (reconnection/direct entry) and low-latitude (viscous interaction) dynamos to the cross-polar potential drop. Convection streamlines which are connected to the high-latitude dynamo may be identified from dispersed magnetosheath ions not only in the cusp/cleft region itself but also several degrees poleward of it. This fact, together with Freja's orbital geometry allows us to infer the potential drop from the high-latitude dynamo as well as to obtain a lower limit to the potential drop from the low-latitude dynamo for dayside Freja passes. All cases studied here are for active magnetospheric conditions. The Freja data suggest that under these conditions at least one third of the potential is generated in the low-latitude dynamo. These observations are consistent with earlier observations of the potential across the low-latitude boundary layer if we assume that the low-latitude dynamo region extends over several tens of Earth radii in the antisunward direction along the tail flanks, and that the majority of the potential drop derives from the sun-aligned component of the electric field rather than from its cross-boundary component, or equivalently, that the centre of the dynamo region is located quite far down tail. A possible dynamo geometry is illustrated.

The large-scale field-aligned current system for persistent northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is typically different from that for persistent southward IMF. One characteristic difference is that for northward IMF there is often a large-scale field-aligned current system poleward of the main auroral oval. This current system (the NBZ current) typically occupies a large fraction of the region poleward of the region 1 and 2 currents. The present paper models the high-latitude convection as a function of the large-scale field-aligned currents. In particular, a possible evolution of the convection pattern as the current system changes from a typical configuration for southward IMF to a configuration representing northward IMF (or vice versa) is presented. Depending on additional assumptions, for example about the y-component of the IMF, the convection pattern could either turn directly from a two-cell type to a four-cell type, or a three-cell type pattern could show up as an intermediate state. An interesting although rather surprising result of this study is that different ways of balancing the NBZ currents has a minor influence on the large-scale convection pattern.

The Astrid-2 mission has dual primary objectives. First, it is an orbiting instrument platform for studying auroral electrodynamics. Second, it is a technology demonstration of the feasibility of using micro-satellites for innovative space plasma physics research. The EMMA instrument, which we discuss in the present paper, is designed to provide simultaneous sampling of two electric and three magnetic field components up to about 1 kHz. The spin plane components of the electric field are measured by two pairs of opposing probes extended by wire booms with a separation distance of 6.7 m. The probes have titanium nitride (TiN) surfaces. which has proved to be a material with excellent properties for providing good electrical contact between probe and plasma. The wire booms are of a new design in which the booms in the stowed position are wound around the exterior of the spacecraft body. The boom system was flown for the first time on this mission and worked flawlessly. The magnetic field is measured by a tri-axial fluxgate sensor located at the tip of a rigid. hinged boom extended along the spacecraft spin axis and facing away from the Sun. The new advanced-design fluxgate magnetometer uses digital signal processors for detection and feedback, thereby reducing the analogue circuitry to a minimum. The instrument characteristics as well as a brief review of the science accomplished and planned are presented.

19.

Blomberg, Lars G.

et al.

KTH, School of Electrical Engineering (EES), Space and Plasma Physics.

Matsumoto, H.

Bougeret, J. -L

Kojima, H.

Yagitani, S.

Cumnock, Judy A.

KTH, School of Electrical Engineering (EES), Space and Plasma Physics.

Eriksson, A. I.

Marklund, Göran T.

KTH, School of Electrical Engineering (EES), Space and Plasma Physics.

Wahlund, J. -E

Bylander, Lars

KTH, School of Electrical Engineering (EES), Space and Plasma Physics.

MEFISTO, together with the companion instrument WPT, are planning the first-ever in situ measurements of the electric field in the magnetosphere of planet Mercury. The instruments have been selected by JAXA for inclusion in the BepiColombo/MMO payload, as part of the Plasma Wave Investigation coordinated by Kyoto University. The magnetosphere of Mercury was discovered by Mariner 10 in 1974 and will be studied further by Messenger starting in 2011. However, neither spacecraft did or will measure the electric field. Electric fields are crucial in the dynamics of a magnetosphere and for the energy and plasma transport between different regions within the magnetosphere as well as between the magnetosphere and the surrounding regions. The MEFISTO instrument will be capable of measuring electric fields from DC to 3 MHz, and will thus also allow diagnostics of waves at all frequencies of relevance to the Hermean magnetosphere. MEFISTO is a double-probe electric field instrument. The double-probe technique has strong heritage and is well proven on missions such as Viking, Polar, and Cluster. For BepiColombo, a newly developed deployment mechanism is planned which reduces the mass by a factor of about 5 compared to conventional mechanisms for 15 in long booms. We describe the basic characteristics of the instrument and briefly discuss the new developments made to tailor the instrument to flight in Mercury orbit.

The large-scale auroral morphology and its associated electrodynamics for northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is characteristically different from that for southward IMF. For northward IMF significant auroral activity is often present poleward of the &#8220;normal&#8221; auroral oval, and a number of different polar auroral configurations can occur. Two extreme situations which are considered here are either one where one or more discrete arcs separated from the &#8220;normal&#8221; oval are present in the polar region, or one where diffuse auroral activity is found in a large fraction of this region. The latter case might be associated with so-called NBZ (field-aligned) currents. We briefly review the typical signatures in terms of optical emissions, field-aligned currents, electric fields, and plasma convection usually encountered in the polar region when IMF Bz&lt;0, and their interrelationships. This is the starting point for a more detailed discussion, driven by modeling results, of the relationships between electric field, field-aligned current, and conductivity in the two distinct situations mentioned. In particular we discuss the influence the polar field-aligned currents have on the convection pattern, on the small as well as on the large scale. As expected, currents associated with discrete isolated arcs give rise mainly to small-scale modifications, whereas currents related to auroral activity in an expanded oval can modify the overall convection pattern substantially.

The Jovian plasma environment exhibits a variety of plasma flow interactions with magnetised as well as unmagnetised bodies, making it a good venue for furthering our understanding of solar wind - magnetosphere / ionosphere interactions.

On an overall scale the solar wind interacts with the Jovian magnetosphere, much like at Earth but with vastly different temporal and spatial scales. Inside the Jovian magnetosphere the co-rotating plasma interacts with the inner moons. The latter interaction is slower and more stable than the corresponding interaction between the solar wind and the planets, and can thus provide additional information on the principles of the interaction mechanisms.

Because of the wealth of expected low-frequency waves, as well as the predicted quasi-static electric fields and plasma drifts in the interaction regions between different parts of the Jovian system, a most valuable component in future payloads would be a double-probe electric field instrument. Recent developments in low-mass instrumentation facilitate electric field measurements on spinning planetary spacecraft, which we here exemplify.

This paper deals with the quasi-dc electric fields measured in the CRIT I ionospheric release experiment, which was launched from Wallops Island on May 13, 1986. The purpose of the experiment was to study the critical ionization velocity (CIV) mechanism in the ionosphere. Two identical barium shaped charges were fired from distances of 1.99 km and 4.34 km towards a main payload, which made full three-dimensional measurements of the electric field inside the streams. There was also a subpayload separated from the main payload by a couple of kilometers along the magnetic field. The relevance of earlier proposed mechanisms for electron heating in CIV is investigated in the light of the CRIT I results. It is concluded that both the “homogeneous” and the “ionizing front” models probably apply, but in different parts of the stream. It is also possible that electrons are directly accelerated by a magnetic-field-aligned component of the electric field; the quasi-dc electric field observed within the streams had a large magnetic-field-aligned component, persisting on the time scale of the passage of the streams. The coupling between the ambient ionosphere and the ionized barium stream in CRIT I was more complicated than is usually assumed in CIV theories, with strong magnetic-field-aligned electric fields and probably current limitation as important processes. One interpretation of the quasi-dc electric field data is that the internal electric fields of the streams were not greatly modified by magnetic-field-aligned currents, i.e., a state was established where the transverse currents were to a first approximation divergence-free. It is argued that this interpretation can explain both a reversal of the strong explosion-directed electric field in burst 1 and the absence of such a reversal in burst 2.

Dipolarization fronts (DFs), embedded in bursty bulk flows, play a crucial role in Earth's plasma sheet dynamics because the energy input from the solar wind is partly dissipated in their vicinity. This dissipation is in the form of strong low-frequency waves that can heat and accelerate energetic electrons up to the high-latitude plasma sheet. However, the dynamics of DF propagation and associated low-frequency waves in the magnetotail are still under debate due to instrumental limitations and spacecraft separation distances. In May 2015 the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission was in a string-of-pearls configuration with an average intersatellite distance of 160km, which allows us to study in detail the microphysics of DFs. Thus, in this letter we employ MMS data to investigate the properties of dipolarization fronts propagating earthward and associated whistler mode wave emissions. We show that the spatial dynamics of DFs are below the ion gyroradius scale in this region (approximate to 500km), which can modify the dynamics of ions in the vicinity of the DF (e.g., making their motion nonadiabatic). We also show that whistler wave dynamics have a temporal scale of the order of the ion gyroperiod (a few seconds), indicating that the perpendicular temperature anisotropy can vary on such time scales.

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physical process in plasmas whereby stored magnetic energy is converted into heat and kinetic energy of charged particles. Reconnection occurs in many astrophysical plasma environments and in laboratory plasmas. Using measurements with very high time resolution, NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission has found direct evidence for electron demagnetization and acceleration at sites along the sunward boundary of Earth's magnetosphere where the interplanetary magnetic field reconnects with the terrestrial magnetic field. We have (i) observed the conversion of magnetic energy to particle energy; (ii) measured the electric field and current, which together cause the dissipation of magnetic energy; and (iii) identified the electron population that carries the current as a result of demagnetization and acceleration within the reconnection diffusion/dissipation region.

We present a statistical study of coherent structures at kinetic scales, using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the Earth's magnetosheath. We implemented the multi-spacecraft partial variance of increments (PVI) technique to detect these structures, which are associated with intermittency at kinetic scales. We examine the properties of the electron heating occurring within such structures. We find that, statistically, structures with a high PVI index are regions of significant electron heating. We also focus on one such structure, a current sheet, which shows some signatures consistent with magnetic reconnection. Strong parallel electron heating coincides with whistler emissions at the edges of the current sheet.

Investigation of the wave particle interaction in the magnetosphere and ionosphere by controllable experiment in near Earth space is in focus of modern space geophysics. We propose to stimulate auroral precipitation by changing parameters of the Flow Cyclotron Maser (FCM) and test the FCM model itself. One of the main goals of the project is inducing of artificial pulsating aurora.

Auroral arcs can develop small-scale distortions known as vortex streets or curls. Other common and somewhat larger spatially periodic distortions are auroral folds. In this event study we present simultaneous wide and narrow field imager observations of a third kind of structuring, on even smaller spatial scales. Boundary undulations, or “ruffs”, have been observed to form on the edge of an auroral arc and they occur superimposed on curls, folds or at times of auroral shear. The undulations typically have wavelengths of less than 3 km and amplitudes of less than 800 m. They are observed to move on the edge of the arc, with velocities of about 11 km/s. These observations, with multi-scale deformations, reveal a much more intricate structuring of auroral arcs than previously found.

Two discrete auroral arc filaments, with widths of less than 1 km, have been analysed using multi-station, multi-monochromatic optical observations from small and medium field-of-view imagers and the EISCAT radar. The energy and flux of the precipitating electrons, volume emission rates and local electric fields in the ionosphere have been determined at high temporal (up to 30 Hz) and spatial (down to tens of metres) resolution. A new time-dependent inversion model is used to derive energy spectra from EISCAT electron density profiles. The energy and flux are also derived independently from optical emissions combined with ion-chemistry modelling, and a good agreement is found. A robust method to obtain detailed 2-D maps of the average energy and number flux of small scale aurora is presented. The arcs are stretched in the north-south direction, and the lowest energies are found on the western, leading edges of the arcs. The large ionospheric electric fields (250 mV m(-1)) found from tristatic radar measurements are evidence of strong currents associated with the region close to the optical arcs. The different data sets indicate that the arcs appear on the boundaries between regions with different average energy of diffuse precipitation, caused by pitch-angle scattering. The two thin arcs on these boundaries are found to be related to an increase in number flux (and thus increased energy flux) without an increase in energy.

Simultaneous observations were made of dynamic aurora during substorm activity on 26 January 2006 with three high spatial and temporal resolution instruments: the ASK (Auroral Structure and Kinetics) instrument, SIF (Spectrographic Imaging Facility) and ESR (EISCAT Svalbard Radar), all located on Svalbard (78° N, 16.2° E). One of the narrow field of view ASK cameras is designed to detect O+ ion emission at 731.9 nm. From the spectrographic data we have been able to determine the amount of contaminating N2 and OH emission detected in the same filter. This is of great importance to further studies using the ASK instrument, when the O+ ion emission will be used to detect flows and afterglows in active aurora. The ratio of O+ to N2 emission is dependent on the energy spectra of electron precipitation, and was found to be related to changes in the morphology of the small-scale aurora. The ESR measured height profiles of electron densities, which allowed estimates to be made of the energy spectrum of the precipitation during the events studied with optical data from ASK and SIF. It was found that the higher energy precipitation corresponded to discrete and dynamic features, including curls, and low energy precipitation corresponded to auroral signatures that were dominated by rays. The evolution of these changes on time scales of seconds is of importance to theories of auroral acceleration mechanisms.

The ASK instrument (Auroral Structure and Kinetics) is a narrow field auroral imager, providing simultaneous images of aurora in three different spectral bands at multiple frames per second resolution. The three emission species studied are O-2(+) (5620 angstrom), O+ (7319 angstrom) and O (7774 angstrom). ASK was installed and operated for the first time in an observational campaign on Svalbard, from December 2005 to March 2006. The measurements were supported by data from the Spectrographic Imaging Facility (SIF). The relation between the morphology and dynamics of the visible aurora and its spectral characteristics is studied for selected events from this period. In these events it is found that dynamic aurora is coupled to high energy electron precipitation. By studying the O-2(+)/O intensity ratio we find that some auroral filaments are caused by higher energy precipitation within regions of lower energy precipitation, whereas other filaments are the result of a higher particle flux compared to the surroundings.

Imaging of active structured aurora in the forbidden O+ ion line at 732.0 nm provides a possibility of direct observation of plasma drifts in the topside ionosphere. The metastable O+ P-2 state has a radiative lifetime of 5 s, so the oxygen ions can be detected after the precipitation creating them has ceased. The decay time of the O+ emission is studied and modelled with a time-dependent electron transport and ion chemistry model. Four examples are given of O+ afterglow observed with the multi-spectral imager, auroral structure and kinetics (ASK), which was located near Tromso, Norway, in 2006. Estimates are given of drift velocities resulting from the analysis of the afterglow motions. Bulk plasma velocities of 340 and 720 m/s directed eastwards were found for two afterglowing arc filaments, corresponding to southward electric fields of 18 and 40 mV/m, respectively.

The Auroral Turbulence II sounding rocket was launched into a moderately active night-side aurora from the Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, US. This unique three payload rocket experiment contained both electric and magnetic field, and particle instruments, which provided three point measurements over a wide range of scales. The payloads passed through several auroral arcs providing details of the auroral fine structure and the three point measurements allowed the distinction of spatial and temporal variations. The rocket data are compared with optical observations with special emphasis on a large quiet arc traversed in the middle of the flight. The observed features and field-aligned current densities are found to agree with earlier studies.

42. Ergun, R. E.

et al.

Goodrich, K. A.

Wilder, F. D.

Holmes, J. C.

Stawarz, J. E.

Eriksson, S.

Sturner, A. P.

Malaspina, D. M.

Usanova, M. E.

Torbert, R. B.

Lindqvist, Per-Arne

KTH, School of Electrical Engineering (EES), Space and Plasma Physics.

Khotyaintsev, Y.

Burch, J. L.

Strangeway, R. J.

Russell, C. T.

Pollock, C. J.

Giles, B. L.

Hesse, M.

Chen, L. J.

Lapenta, G.

Goldman, M. V.

Newman, D. L.

Schwartz, S. J.

Eastwood, J. P.

Phan, T. D.

Mozer, F. S.

Drake, J.

Shay, M. A.

Cassak, P. A.

Nakamura, R.

Marklund, Göran

KTH, School of Electrical Engineering (EES), Space and Plasma Physics.

We report observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites of parallel electric fields (E-vertical bar vertical bar) associated with magnetic reconnection in the subsolar region of the Earth's magnetopause. E-vertical bar vertical bar events near the electron diffusion region have amplitudes on the order of 100 mV/m, which are significantly larger than those predicted for an antiparallel reconnection electric field. This Letter addresses specific types of E-vertical bar vertical bar events, which appear as large-amplitude, near unipolar spikes that are associated with tangled, reconnected magnetic fields. These E-vertical bar vertical bar events are primarily in or near a current layer near the separatrix and are interpreted to be double layers that may be responsible for secondary reconnection in tangled magnetic fields or flux ropes. These results are telling of the three-dimensional nature of magnetopause reconnection and indicate that magnetopause reconnection may be often patchy and/or drive turbulence along the separatrix that results in flux ropes and/or tangled magnetic fields.

The four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft recorded the first direct evidence of reconnection exhausts associated with Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) waves at the duskside magnetopause on 8 September 2015 which allows for local mass and energy transport across the flank magnetopause. Pressure anisotropy-weighted Walen analyses confirmed in-plane exhausts across 22 of 42 KH-related trailing magnetopause current sheets (CSs). Twenty-one jets were observed by all spacecraft, with small variations in ion velocity, along the same sunward or antisunward direction with nearly equal probability. One exhaust was only observed by the MMS-1,2 pair, while MMS-3,4 traversed a narrow CS (1.5 ion inertial length) in the vicinity of an electron diffusion region. The exhausts were locally 2-D planar in nature as MMS-1,2 observed almost identical signatures separated along the guide-field. Asymmetric magnetic and electric Hall fields are reported in agreement with a strong guide-field and a weak plasma density asymmetry across the magnetopause CS.

We report observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) satellites of a large guide field magnetic reconnection event. The observations suggest that two of the four MMS spacecraft sampled the electron diffusion region, whereas the other two spacecraft detected the exhaust jet from the event. The guide magnetic field amplitude is approximately 4 times that of the reconnecting field. The event is accompanied by a significant parallel electric field (E-parallel to)that is larger than predicted by simulations. The high-speed (similar to 300 km/s) crossing of the electron diffusion region limited the data set to one complete electron distribution inside of the electron diffusion region, which shows significant parallel heating. The data suggest that E-parallel to is balanced by a combination of electron inertia and a parallel gradient of the gyrotropic electron pressure.

The cross-polar potential drop Phi (pc), and the low-latitude asymmetric geomagnetic disturbance field, as indicated by the mid-latitude ASY-H magnetic index, are used to study the average magnetospheric response to the solar wind forcing for southward interplanetary magnetic field conditions. The state of the solar wind is monitored by the ACE spacecraft and the ionospheric convection is measured by the double probe electric field instrument on the Astrid-2 satellite. The solar wind-magnetosphere coupling is examined for 77 cases in February and from mid-May to mid-June 1999 by using the interplanetary magnetic field B-z component and the reconnection electric field. Our results show that the maximum correlation between Phi (pc) and the reconnection electric field is obtained approximately 25 min after the solar wind has reached a distance of II R-E from the Earth, which is the assumed average position of the magnetopause. The corresponding correlation for ASY-H shows two separate responses to the reconnection electric field, delayed by about 35 and 65 min, respectively. We suggest that the combination of the occurrence of a large magnetic storm on 18 February 1999 and the enhanced level of geomagnetic activity which peaks at Kp = 7(-) may explain the fast direct response of ASY-H to the solar wind at 35 min, as well as the lack of any clear secondary responses of Phi (pc) to the driving solar wind at time delays longer than 25 min.

[1] We present a case and statistical study of plasma convection in the Northern Hemisphere during summer conditions using electric field, magnetic field, and particle data taken during dawn-dusk directed orbits of the FAST satellite. To our knowledge, this set provides the most comprehensive combination of data as yet presented in support of lobe cell convection from an ionospheric perspective this far from the noon sector. In particular, we study the current systems and convection patterns for all passes in July 1997 that show evidence for six large-scale field-aligned currents (FACs) rather than the usual system of four FACs associated with the region 1/region 2 current systems. A total of 71 passes out of 232 in the study had the extra pair of FACs. The extra pair of FACs in 30 of the 71 cases lies either on the dawnside or on the duskside of the noon-midnight meridian, and their position is strongly correlated with the polarity of the IMF By (negative and positive, respectively). This is consistent with the IMF dependence of a three-cell convection pattern of coexisting merging, viscous, and lobe-type convection cells. The occurrence of the asymmetric FAC pair was also strongly linked to conditions of IMF |B-y/B-z | > 1. The extra pair of FACs in these cases was clearly associated with the lobe cell of the three-cell convection system. The remaining 41 cases had the pair of FACs straddling the noon-midnight meridian. The extra pair of FACs was often (20 cases out of 30) observed at magnetic local times more than three hours away from noon, rather than being confined to regions near noon and the typical location of the cusp. Such a current system consisting of a pair of FACs poleward of the nearest region 1 current is consistent with the IMF B-y-dependent global MHD model developed by Ogino et al. [1986] for southward IMF conditions, as well as with other magnetospheric and ionospheric convection models that include the effects of merging occuring simultaneously at both low-latitude dayside and high-latitude lobe and flank magnetopause reconnection sites. Finally, the presence of the additional FACs and three-cell convection well away from noon show that the entire dayside ionosphere is affected by IMF-dependent processes, rather than only a limited region around noon.

We analyze plasma, magnetic field, and electric field data for a flux transfer event (FTE) to highlight improvements in our understanding of these transient reconnection signatures resulting from high-resolution data. The similar to 20 s long, reverse FTE, which occurred south of the geomagnetic equator near dusk, was immersed in super-Alfvenic flow. The field line twist is illustrated by the behavior of flows parallel/perpendicular to the magnetic field. Four-spacecraft timing and energetic particle pitch angle anisotropies indicate a flux rope (FR) connected to the Northern Hemisphere and moving southeast. The flow forces evidently overcame the magnetic tension. The high-speed flows inside the FR were different from those outside. The external flows were perpendicular to the field as expected for draping of the external field around the FR. Modeling the FR analytically, we adopt a non-force free approach since the current perpendicular to the field is nonzero. It reproduces many features of the observations.

Model calculations of the electrodynamics of the high-latitude ionosphere are compared to measurements made by the Viking satellite during July-August 1986. The model calculations are based on the IZMEM procedure, where the electric field and currents in the ionosphere are given as functions of the interplanetary magnetic field. The events chosen correspond to the growth, the expansion, and the recovery phases of substorms. During the growth and expansion phases the correlation between the model results and the satellite data is rather good. During recovery phase the correlation is not as good. The correlation between modeled and observed quantities suggest that during growth and expansion phase the magnetosphere is mainly directly driven by the solar wind, whereas during recovery phase it is mainly driven by internal processes, i.e., loading-unloading. Best fit is obtained when averaging the measured quantities over a few minutes, which means adjusting the spatial resolution of the measurements to the resolution of the model. Different time delays between the interplanetary magnetic field observations and those of Viking were examined. Best agreement was obtained, not surprisingly, for time delays corresponding to the estimated information transit time from the solar wind spacecraft to the ionosphere.

Model calculations of the electric fields in the high-latitude ionosphere are compared to measurements made by the Viking satellite during August 3, 1986 pass. The model calculations are based on the IZMEM procedure, where the electric field and currents in the ionosphere are given as functions of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The event chosen correspond to the growth phase of substorm. The correlation between the model results and the satellite data is high, which assumes directly driven of the magnetosphere by the solar wind. Similar high correlation exists between the electric field in the solar wind (V*Bs) and AL magnetic activity indices, if time delays between the V*Bs observations in space and magnetic activity above the Earth's ground are taken into account. It is concluded, that the directly driven response of the magnetosphere to highly variable solar wind electric field is the main feature of geomagnetic activity at high latitudes.